Do you know anything about purslane?!
It is a very tasty and health beneficial plant! And it is even considered to be an exquisite dish by some people…
Brief Overview of purslane
Here’s a little of my personal experience with purslane. A few years ago, I had problems with my hair (hair loss), nails (my nails were not looking healthy at all) and skin (I would get a pimple every once in a while, dull complexion). My doctor said I was in critical need of more vitamins and micro elements, so I started looking for a complex of vitamins that would treat my vitamins deficiency.
But then I read an article about the benefits of purslane and got carried away by the things people write about it in reviews. Turns out, purslane acts just like any expensive complex of vitamins and minerals.
Purslane – is a herbaceous plant. The above-ground part of this plant contains proteins, micro-elements (zinc, copper, manganese, nickel, iron), macrocells (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium), organic acids, alkaloids, substantial amounts of vitamins – carotene, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, etc.
The seeds of purslane contain fatty oil comprising linoleic, oleic, palmitic and other fatty acids. And you know that a product is basically a superfood if it contains so many goodies as mentioned above.
So I started taking purslane instead of some supplements with vitamins and minerals. And you know what? In about a few weeks, I started seeing significant improvements in the state of my overall health: hair loss stopped, my nails went back to the healthy state and my skin looked as smooth and silky as never. When I shared the news with my doctor, he looked surprised. But then he said it made total sense why purslane would help.
Purslane has been especially popular for a long time in the countries of Central Asia and the Mediterranean.
Young leaves and stems may be taken in food either raw or cooked. They are used in spicy salads, soups, sauces to meat dishes. In winter, they are pickled and marinated, using as a substitute for capers.
Purslane has been known as a medicinal plant starting with Hippocrates time. Even in the ancient times, people believed that the seeds of this plant cleanse the body. And isn’t it all about cleansing the body in our time?
Purslane leaves were used in the ancient times as wound healing, diuretic; in the mixture for the treatment of impotency, as an anti-toxic drug for bites of poisonous snakes and insects, insomnia, liver and kidneys, in case of vitamin deficiency, dysentery, etc.
Purslane reduces sugar level in blood and can be recommended in the diet of patients with mild form of diabetes.
Purslane should be plucked when it is young, before flowering, when the stem (even thick one) breaks down very easily! Both the leaves and stems are used in food.
In other words, purslane contains linolenic acid, one of the most popular acids omega-3. Why should we pay money for fish oil when we can grow our own omega-3 at home? Especially when you don’t need to make efforts on its cultivation, since it grows like weed.
But purslane is not just a herbal plant for rabbits – it is a culinary delicacy! Its stem contains vitamin C. Omega-3 is a means for the regulation of human metabolism. Purslane contains a very high concentration of linoleic acid – several times more than spinach.
Let’s take a look at the two salads – with sautéed and raw purslane!
Salad of sautéed purslane
Ingredients:
- Sautéed purslane
- Salt
- Garlic
- Vinegar
Like any plant, purslane is greatly reduced in size while sautéed, so keep that in mind.
Purslane is well-laundered, if you change the water several times.
You don’t need to chop it or tear off the leaves since it is tasty itself. You also don’t need to dry it up! Instead, pull it out from the water and put on a saucepan.
You don’t need a lot of water for cooking. Otherwise, the water with a great number of useful elements will be drained! I don’t believe that’s something we’d want to do.
Humidity of the plant is enough to sauté it. Just keep an eye since it can get stuck to the pan, salt and stir a couple of times from the bottom up, as the lower layers will be cooked faster. You don’t have to cook it for long time as it may start boiling! If purslane changes the color, it means that it is cooked!
Pull out purslane from a bowl and give it some time to cool. Add salt, crushed garlic and vinegar (you may also add oil). Mix it. Done!
Let it brew a little and serve well chilled!
Salad of raw purslane
Ingredients:
- Raw purslane
- Mint
- Salt
- Garlic
- Yogurt
- Vegetable oil (optional)
This recipe is particularly interesting. I really liked the purslane in its raw form! It is best combined with mint.
It has an excellent taste of freshness! Purslane has a little bit salty and tart taste, plus the taste and smell of mint … it’s a perfect combination!
Chop the raw purslane along with its leaves and stems, you don’t have to break off the leaves! Why would you want to waste the extra energy?
Add salt, crushed garlic, yogurt and mint. Some people also add vegetable oil, but I do not recommend doing it! It is already tasty!
Mix and be sure to give it brew for a couple of hours!
A couple of my personal comments:
– Do not skimp on the garlic and mint! Garlic should ‘bite’ a little. And mint should be felt, like really, really felt! It gives a cooling effect in the mouth, just like a mint gum!
I cannot tell you about the exact proportions because each of us has his/her own preferences.
If your sauce (yogurt, sour cream) is not sour, it can be slightly acidified with vinegar or lemon juice …
In general, the taste should be sour, tangy and mint. Yes, the taste is unusual but very nice!
Well, as a bonus – tasty and useful supplement to any dish.
Pickled purslane
I offer you a fast and easy recipe! One of my favorite dish made of purslane – is pickled purslane!
Easily made but very tasty snack!
In this recipe we use raw purslane/ Although it is poured with hot marinade, it is not like a sautéed purslane. It is solid, and a little bit crunchy.
You may use any marinade you like.
So, for marinating we need the most basic, standard set:
– purslane
– garlic
– pepper peas (black, allspice)
– bay leaf
– dill (fresh herbs or dry)
– for the marinade: water, salt, sugar, vinegar 6-9%. If sugar is forbidden for you, this should be interesting for you. And be aware, not all sweeteners are good.
For marinating you can use any purslane, not even very young, and it is better to pick even thick stems. In addition, if it was collected not in the spring or early summer, but when it was giving the seeds (they are small, black, pretty unsavory), you can simply cut off the top branches.
Otherwise you will get the marinade as with poppy! Although the seeds are not very tasty, they are very useful. You can spoil the taste of a dish for the useful properties of seeds, it is justified.
Purslane should not be chopped! Well, only if you see very long branches, 15-20 cm is perfectly fine!
Purslane should be rinsed well.
Now put fresh dill on the bottom of cleanly washed and scalded with boiling water glass or metal pan – also add 1-2 laurel leaves and few pepper peas.
Then we begin to put purslane mixed with garlic (2-3 cloves chopped on):
So then we fill up to the top quite tightly, sometimes even well-tamped, press by hand, since after pouring marinade it is quite compressed!
You can cook pretty much any marinade you wish! For example, 1 liter of water – 2 tsp of salt, 1-2 tsp of sugar, 4-6 tsp of vinegar … But, again, the marinade should match your tastes! Some people like sugary marinades, some salty and some like sour marinades … You can even skip adding sugar. Vinegar in general can be very different.
So taste your marinade! If everything turned out – saltiness, sweetness and acidity taste good for you, then great!
(By the way, the vinegar is added to the marinade at the end and then the fire is turned off. Marinade with vinegar cannot be boiled!)
Pour purslane with hot marinade and close it with the plastic covers. Leave it to cool, and then put it in the refrigerator! Then control yourself – keep it there for at least 2-3 days.
Then proceed to the tasting. It is perfectly combined with meat, potatoes, rice.
Leave in the comment section below your impression of this recipe, or, if you have some additions – please feel free to share it 🙂
